Jonah's Destiny
by elfmaiden4legs
Summary: This is an upload of a very very old story of mine, set around the time of Tasha's time with The Believers. Jonah makes the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the life of the remarkable young woman he has come to love.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Jonah's insides burned with the fires of hell as he felt the pressure of the kick dealt by one of the 'believers' he knew only by the name of Josh. It had been Momma Rose who had dealt the first blow, setting an example for the rest to follow as she made a heavy blow to Jonah's head and chest, knocking him to the ground and winding him in the process. His shoulder jarred painfully as it came into abrupt contact with the dry earth and he put his hands up defensively to guard himself against any further blows. He expected them to lay into him, as he had seen them do to so many others countless times before. It was a ritual that he himself had once been a part of – but now he had left that part of himself to rot along with the sins of all the others, and they could do what they liked with him now. Jonah waited though, and it never came – he waited quivering in pain, the floor cold and hard to his aching body, cold and hard like his mother's heart. He waited for his body to give in to the ferocity of their blows – blows which never came.

His vision was a black hole as he kept his cold fingers pressed tight against his eyes, if he couldn't see them he couldn't know what was coming. He couldn't let them see how afraid he now was of his own mother, of the people he had once considered to be his family – he had to play along with their game, and let them do what they had to do, at least for the moment. He couldn't let them kill him, though he knew that they wanted to. He would not let death take him, not yet – not until he knew that Tasha would be safe.

It was then that he made his mistake, he removed his hands from his eyes just for a moment hoping against hope that the first couple of hits had just been a warning and now that they had beaten their message into him they had left him to dwell on his sins, soaked in his own blood. He flinched with pain as burning light entered his eyes, and then he felt it, the searing pain as Josh's booted foot met with his gut – a single blow, but it was enough, and Jonah recoiled in agony. His sight was foggy as unconsciousness threatened to overtake him, and in that moment he knew that he would not make it out of this alive.

The 'believers' returned him to his tent that evening in an exhausted state. He had little recollection of how he had got there, he remembered being carried rather unceremoniously by a girl and an older man that he had once counted amongst his closest friends – but he had been too weak to recall their names. Momma Rose had followed cruelly behind, entering the tent with Jonah and making sure that he was once again handcuffed securely back in place with no chance of escape. He winced as his right leg brushed against the hard ground and gripped his ankle like a vice as pain shot up his leg and into the base of his back. Tasha was wrenching at her shackles in a desperate bid to get to him and he rejoiced briefly at her loyalty. After all he had done to her she still cared for him, she still didn't want to see him hurt.

"What have they done to you?" She cried.

But Momma Rose won't tell her, won't tell her all that they have put Jonah through, of the trails that lie ahead, and for the first time in days he is grateful for her heartlessness. Her silence is malicious, she wants to keep them waiting, to keep them in suspense as though their fates haven't already been decided – but Jonah knows what is coming, and he doesn't want Tasha to know.

"What did they do to you?" She asks him as Momma Rose leaved them to themselves. She sees the pain in Jonah's eyes – the fear – but she herself no longer appears afraid, at least not for herself – and that's how he wants it to stay.

"Nothing… its nothing." He smiled, and with that she turns away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Running, they are running now. Jonah feels as though his lungs are going to burst as he fights to keep p with Tasha, knowing that he is fighting a losing battle – not only to catch up with the girl he has come to love and to escape but also to stay alive. He hears the group as they give chase behind them, he hears his mother's angry cries and falls back. His leg is numb with searing pain and this is all he has left to offer now – he will make sure their attentions are on him, giving Tasha enough time to escape. When he knows that she is safe it won't matter what happens to him anymore.

He feels them grab him as he falls to the floor. They hoist him up, and drag him back to camp – only this time he knows they will not be retuning him to the tent. They will tie him up outside and wash him before setting his body aflame – to eradicate his sins. They will welcome him back into the family, but this is one family Jonah knows he does not want to go back to. Jonah will make sure that tonight is the last night he spends on this earth.

His chest and abdomen are searing with burning pain and he finds that he is fighting for each new breath. His body aches with bruises, his flesh is tender to the touch, but it doesn't matter to him that he can no longer feel his wounded leg. He knows that they have cut him – marked him – labelled him like an animal to be owned. He realises now that he was never free, from the moment he was born he has always been a prisoner, his destiny was already determined by his mother and his hateful surrogate family. Tasha has helped him to realise that. He had grown up thinking that he was special, that he had the ultimate freedom and the perfect childhood, a perfect life – yet he was the perfect puppet. But there is still hope for Tasha, she can still be free, and there is still one last thing that Jonah can do to make his life really mean something. From now on Jonah is in charge of his own destiny.

"Where's the girl?" He hears someone rage, but looking around he can't see Tasha anymore and he is relieved. Unconsciousness beckons him as he is laid to the ground with surprising gentleness. He feels his arms being wrenched behind his back as his spine comes into contact with the rough bark. The tree they tie him to scratches at his bare arms as he feels his wrists being bound around the thick trunk. The 'believers' will not make the same mistake with him twice, but escape was never his true motive. Tasha would never have fled without him, and he needed her to be safe. The pain has become a dull ache now, or maybe it is the fact that he will never see her again that hurts him more than any physical beating he has sustained. He knows that he is dying – if not already in body then he has already lost the will to live. The lies that he has lived are slowly killing him. His eyes are growing heavy. It's as though they have drugged him, but this time it goes much deeper than that, and he knows it. This time the drowsiness is perfectly natural as his body begins to shutdown, and tonight he will sleep the most peaceful sleep he has slept in weeks, the most natural sleep he has probably ever slept in his life – for tonight it will bring with it true freedom.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Jonah's head spins and throbs with the beating of his heart as he feels himself being shaken awake by gentle hands. His head is propped up against the tree, his neck stiff and set painfully in place. He can't tell for how long he has been asleep but he knows he can't have been out for long – and he is strangely relieved to discover that he is not done with yet. As he opens his eyes, cautiously at first, fear consumed him as he expects to see that the end has come before it was due – but to his surprise he is still alone. He feels a delicate hand on his shoulder and strains to turn around to gaze into the eyes of his saviour – to gaze into the eyes of Tasha.

Even his hallucinations are taunting him. He reaches out to stroke her rosy cheeks, pink with exertion, but she looks more beautiful than ever – a mirage with that familiar gleam in her eyes as she tells him that she is going to save him. His heart misses a beat as she reaches out to him and he pulls away. She places a cool hand against his burning forehead, and withdraws it quickly as she feels the fire of his fever.

"You came back." He strains to speak.

"Of course I came back…"

He has not the energy left to tell her how much he loves her, but he likes to believe that she already knows. She's still talking to him reassuringly, her voice a beautiful melody as he flooded with adrenaline. She unties his bonds, but there is to be no salvation for either of them.

"There she is!" He hears a shout and both turn to see a group of 'believers' advancing on them.

"Get the girl!" He hears his mother's commands and is filled with dread and horror. He wishes Tasha would run, but he can still see her out of the corner of his eye standing loyally by his side. She will not leave him again. He notices Tasha's arms being wrenched behind his back. "Take them to the stream!"

"NO!" He heaves himself to his feet as he feels himself being grabbed from behind. Pain surges through his whole body but despite the sudden urge to double over, to stem the pain, he stands upright. This time he will make his mother listen to him. Only then does he realise that Tasha has started to speak. Her words are a blur, bus his heart is filled with a hope he has never felt the like of before – for Tasha is not speaking as Tasha anymore but as the chosen one.

He notices as the group begin to turn away from them, to turn on Momma Rose. He does not know what she is saying but he directs a weak smile in Tasha's direction. The end has finally come. As he feels the tight grip on his arm begin to release he drops heavily to the floor, unable to support himself anymore. His chest is heaving with the effort of breathing.

"JONAH!" He hears Tasha's shout as she rushes to his side, bending down over him. There are tears in her eyes, but he cannot respond to her. He sees a pale shade of blue light and the sound of sirens throws the whole camp into chaos. He knows she will be safe now.

"Tash!" He hears another voice, but this new voice is strangely familiar. A young male is calling her name, and he hears the sound of running footsteps making their way towards them. Darkness is encroaching on his vision, and he shivers violently as his body is overwhelmed by a sudden bitter cold.

"Jack."

"Are you alright?" He asks her.

"Yeah, I'm fine… it's Jonah, we have to help him!"

"What happened?" He hears another voice speak as the small group begin to crowd around Jonah. He feels something being laid across his body and sharp light enters his eyes – much brighter than the torchlight of the 'believers' as somebody gently lifts his eyelids. He catches sight of a man with a distinct streak of blonde hair.

"I don't know… he wouldn't tell me what they did to him." He hears the distress in Tasha's voice and it brings tears to his eyes.

"Jonah can you hear me?" He hears the blonde man's voice again, but as he tries to respond all he can manage is a pained groan.

"Will he be OK?"

"We need to get him to hospital." The man explains. "He seems to have sustained a pretty severe beating, I'm not sure but I'm concerned he may have internal injuries."

So it was as Jonah had suspected.

"The ambulance is one its way." He hears Jack speak.

"No it'll still take too long, we need to take him now…"

Jonah couldn't hear anymore of the conversation between them as he feels his body being lifted. Agony suddenly grips him, and he feels himself being bundled into the back of the police car. A warm body sits on either side of him, and in that moment Jonah understand the true meaning of compassion and human kindness – and it makes him hate his mother even more.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Jonah…" He hears Tasha's soft voice as she spurs him on, urging him to stay awake.

"Come on mate stay with us." Jack's voice is reassuring but firm although stands in stark contrast to that of the girl Jonah loves. He feels himself being gently shaken, and somebody starts vigorously rubbing his shoulder, preventing the welcoming sleep of exhaustion from taking him.

"What are you doing?" Tasha asks, and Jonah knows that it is Jack disturbing his peace.

"We mustn't let him fall asleep, if we do he could go into shock and he might not wake up again." Jack explains. "Stimulating his senses will help to keep him awake."

But sleep is all Jonah wants now as he feels Tasha place a gentle hand on his arm in a gesture of comfort. She withdraws it quickly though, afraid of hurting him further – but he is beyond feeling anything aside from the searing pain throughout his whole body.

"It's OK." He hears the blonde man speak – he thinks he has heard Jack calling him Peter, but he can't be sure. "I've radioed ahead, we should be there soon. How's he holding up?"

"Not good."

He hears Tasha gasp with alarm, and in that moment he is consumed by fear – it is no longer a fear for himself or fear for his life, death would be a welcome release if it came now, but he fears that he may never get the chance to say goodbye. With one final burst of energy he forces his eyes open to look up at her, to look into her eyes one final time.

"I'm... s… sorry." He struggles to speak.

"For what?" She smiles down at him, that same smile which made him fall for her. He doesn't have time to explain though. He can feel the pressure in his abdomen, of his own blood rising in his chest and he knows that there is only one last thing left to be said.

"I… I love you…"

Darkness takes him in that moment, and his eyes begin to close.

"Jonah?"

He squeezes her hand weakly to let her know that he can still hear her, even if he will never see her again.

"We're hear." He hears Peter's voice and Jonah feels the swerve of the police car. He hears the roar of the sirens being shut off – the sirens he barely noticed. He feels himself being pulled quickly from the car – but as he feels himself being laid onto a gurney as the crowd of people around him become a haze of confused voices, he knows that it is already too late.

"What's his name?" A female voice asks.

"Jonah."

"Jonah who?"

"Just Jonah." He hears Tasha speak.

"Injuries sustained?"

"He appears to have been beaten up pretty badly." He hears Peter explain. "I've taken a brief look at him, there appears to be some significant abdominal trauma and I suspect some internal bleeding."

"Right, take him through to trauma room one." The woman's voice commands, and the rocking of the gurney as Jonah finds himself on the move again only causes him more pain.

"Jonah… Jonah my name is Rachel… I'm a doctor… can you hear me?" She asks him.

Jonah nods.

"We're going to take you through to surgery now. You're going to be fine. We're going to take good care of you." She explains, and Jonah wonders just how much time has really passed. How long has he now been in the hospital? He assumed that it was probably longer than he suspected.

"I'm sorry but this may sting a little."

Jonah flinches as the sharp point of a needle pierces his skin and the final sensation he feels is his head as it starts to spin. His heart is racing as his consciousness is finally swallowed up by eternal blackness.

The last few hours of Jonah's life had been such a blur that it seemed quite insignificant that he was unconscious at the end, that Rachel's voice would be the last voice he ever heard and that he would never hear the drone of the monitors as he finally gave up his fight for life. This was Jonah's true destiny. This was Jonah's choice.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Jonah sat in the busy A&E department staring at Tasha from across the room. She sat alone – not enough time had elapsed for her family to have heard about her plight, but Jack and Peter sat close by sipping coffee from disposable polystyrene cups, and he figured that they were both probably giving her some space. She had a bandage wrapped tightly around her right wrist and hand, and Jonah worried about just how badly she had been hurt – the past few hours had been unbearable for both of them, but he was free from pain now. He wanted to be with her when she found out, and he wouldn't have long to wait now – he wanted to take advantage of this brief moment of quiet to say goodbye.

Suddenly the woman he'd known only by the name of Rachel appeared through the doors leading to the operating theatre, her face pale, her robes covered in blood – blood that Jonah knew belonged to him. At the sight of her Tasha arose from her seat, hope carved into every soft line of her beautiful face – false hope.

"I'm sorry." He heard Rachel explain gently. "We did everything we could – the beating he sustained was just too great."

"No!"

"I'm so sorry Tasha… the internal damage was extensive." Tears filled both women's eyes – Rachel moved by the depth of Tasha's grief. Tasha's tears dripped down her cheeks and soaked her robes.

"No… no please… please…" Jack was by her side as soon as he heard her cries, holding her tightly to him as her hands searched desperately for something physical to cling onto – needing someone to hold. "He saved me Jack… if it wasn't for him I'd be dead."

"I know. I know." The young officer cradled her like a child, his tone soothing as he gently stroked her long blonde hair. Peter took in the scene in silence.

"You can see him now if that's what you want." Rachel explained and Jonah was relieved to see Tasha nod. She was gasping for air as she continued to cry bitterly – her face wet and raw with the salty tears of her grief.

Jonah followed as the three of them allowed themselves to be guided by Rachel back through the maze of corridors – it was dark and he felt cold now but he wouldn't leave Tasha until she was ready to let him go. Jack and Peter hung back as she entered the room alone – or so she thought herself to be alone but Jonah followed behind. The shock of seeing himself lying upon the bed in front of him almost outweighed even the strangeness of the past few hours – but his own feelings were quickly forgotten as he watched Tasha take up the chair beside his bed, taking his limp and lifeless hand affectionately within her own and caressing his fingers softly.

"I never meant for this to happen…" She told him, after silence had elapsed – words seemed to have failed her briefly but now there was so much she felt she needed to say. Jonah knew that he would never get to hear it however – he would stay with her for as long as she needed him, but he could already hear the sound of footsteps outside the door and he knew that Robbie had arrived. She would soon he back where she truly belonged – her pain would fade in time until it would become nothing more than a dull ache and Jonah knew that she would eventually forget him.

"I love you Tash." He thought sadly as he continued to watch her.

"Tash?"

He looked on as Tasha turned to meet with Robbie's gaze – she couldn't speak but Jonah knew that their relationship ran far deeper than the need for words to express the way she was feeling. Robbie smiled a sad smile and Tasha suddenly found herself wrapped in the warm and loving embrace of her soul mate – the man she was really destined to be with.

It was a week later when a small group gathered at the local church to remember the life of a man none of them really knew – but he had died in the process of saving one of their own. The service was short, as had been his life, but it was a meaningful tribute by those few who had met him and in death had come to care. Only one person stood at his grave side as his body was lowered into the ground however – a girl, with long blonde hair and rosy cheeks. She spoke her final goodbye as she quietly read the message carved into the headstone.

_Jonah,_

_A man who proved in the end that actions speak louder than words, and gave his life to save another._

_May he rest in peace._

Tasha then spoke the words he had been waiting a whole week to hear – relieved to know that she was finally able to let him go, because it meant that she was going to be ok.

"Goodbye Jonah." She blew him a kiss as she pressed her hand to his headstone – and finally Jonah was set free.


End file.
